


The Pros and Cons to Dating Lily Evans

by astoriaamalfoyy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Muggle, F/M, Not Canon Compliant, a little political in there but not really - Freeform, maybe trigger warning for mention of stalking, only cause she's pre-law
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:02:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24228529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astoriaamalfoyy/pseuds/astoriaamalfoyy
Summary: James wants to take the next step in his relationship. But first, he has to make a pro/con list.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 6
Kudos: 40





	The Pros and Cons to Dating Lily Evans

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Jily AU so hopefully it turned out alright. I also didn't do much editing for this, so please point out anything (grammar, spelling, etc) that's unbearable to read so I can fix it. Side note, this was sort of based on a conversation I had with a guy a while ago. 
> 
> Also, I got to talk about dolphins!! Eep!! So, enjoy Lily talking about one of my hyperfixations!!
> 
> Anyways, this was requested by an anon on Tumblr. Hope you enjoy!

James Potter toyed with the velvet box in his hands, knowing what was resting inside of it. He opened it slightly to see the bedazzled ring propped in the middle, ready for the proposal James planned for later that night.

But, there were many ups and downs that came from dating a girl like Lily Evans. So before they went to the next level in their relationship, James decided to write a pro/con list.  
Was Lily supposed to show up at his apartment in twenty minutes for their dinner date? Yes. Was James writing his list at the absolute last minute? Also, yes. But James had to write it: he had to be completely sure about what he wanted, no doubts.

So, he started his list, dividing the piece of paper in half. One side was for pros, the others for cons.

James glanced up at the clock. He had enough time for a first draft, and knew he could edit later if need be. Edits were always needed for a pro/con list… 

_Pro: confident conversationalist._ She was always adding her two-cents into a debate, ready to challenge anyone who opposed her. 

The first time he met his future girlfriend it was in an environmental conservation class, where Lily was the first to speak up for a question and volunteer for an example. 

When they both ended up at the same campus party, hosted by some fraternity, James introduced her to Sirius Black, his best friend since childhood. Lily was one of the few girls that didn’t instantly fall into Sirius’ ‘tall, dark, and handsome bad boy’ trace, therefore giving not into his dashing personality and charms (in Sirius’ own words, of course, that he told James later that night).

Then, she was the one who asked James out, but in a totally casual, nonchalant way that not many girls would do. Lily was completely confident in her words, knowing that James would obviously accept.

“So, what do you say, Potter? Perhaps, we could get coffee sometime,” she told him.

“I’d like that, Evans, I’d like that a lot. But isn’t a guy supposed to ask the girl on a date?” he retorted, voice raised to a playful pitch.

“Well, I’ll have you know now that I don’t conform to societal norms, I shall ask anyone I want out to coffee,” Lily explained. “Besides, you have interesting ideas on climate change that I would like to discuss further than your five minute presentation.”

“Alright,” said James, “eleven am tomorrow, at campus Starbucks?”

“Does eleven-thirty work? I have a nine am class that doesn’t end until eleven.”

“Works just fine with me.”

“See you then, James.”

“Have a good night, Lily.”

 _Con: always had something going on._ There was always a class for Lily to attend or an event for her to partake it.

“Are you free Friday?”

“No, I have an exam for my foreign relations class.”

“How about Saturday?”

“Campus Pride Parade. You told me you were going with the boys.”

“Right, that totally slipped my mind: I am going. What about Sunday then?”

“I have an interview for an internship.”

“Oh, then, I guess not this weekend,” James shrugged, looking down.

“Sorry, babe, we’ll do something next weekend. Just you and me,” Lily put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner.

“Yeah, sure.”

 _Pro: people person._ Although Lily was an independent badass who acted like the world was ‘me, myself, and I’ she loved being around others and making new friends.

Lily had three best friends (Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadowes, and Mary Macdonald), who she primarily spent time with. However, she had several other acquaintances, and always made sure to include them in group activities. 

And then Lily met James’ friends, and immediately greeted them, happily. She brought each of them (Sirius, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew) into tight hugs, cracking jokes with them already.

“You know, Prongs,” Remus told him after Lily had left the boys’ apartment the night she’d met them, “Lily is much better than the other girls you’ve dated. Very nice and polite.”

“Thanks, Mum, appreciate it,” James ruffled his friend’s hair with a laugh.

“I mean it,” he pulled away. “Lily’s great. She seems to really dig you.”

James smiled brightly. “I really dig her, too.”

 _Con: crazy ex-boyfriend._ Lily had dated only once in her life before James, and he was totally insane.

Severus Snape and Lily had dated for a measly six months during their freshman year, yet when she decided to call it quits he just couldn’t let go of her.

He stalked her for months, following her from her classes to her dorm to the dining hall to the library. He even called Lily and her friends so many times they had to change their phone numbers. 

Still, Severus ended up at places his ex-girlfriend happened to be and threw guilty, questioning, and obsessive glances at her. He still followed her occasionally, especially after she began to date James.

“I’m gonna beat his arse,” James told her one night as they were walking back from a movie date. “He followed us to the movie. God, I hope he doesn’t know where I live.”

“I hope he doesn't,” Lily shivered, “that’d be bad…really bad, actually.”

“You think?” he responded sarcastically, trying to make light of the potentially scary situation. “Maybe you should get a restraining order. So, he’ll stop stalking you.”

She stopped walking suddenly. “Maybe I will. Wouldn’t be a bad idea,” said Lily.

 _Pro: always concentrated and curious._ Lily was a firm believer that the pursuit of knowledge ended at the end of life: thus, was trying to learn something new all the time.

Lily was always reading something. Whether it be a book, newspaper, or magazine, there was always some form of literature or press within her reach. She had probably read the whole _History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_ by Edward Gibbon at least three times and was an avid follower of the Wall Street Journal (despite not living in the United States).

In addition to that, Lily was usually talking. She could chat about female reproductive rights for hours, spit out fun facts for days, and rant about Alice Cullen being the best character in Twilight for ions. 

“Did you know that dolphins sleep by resting one side of the brain at a time?” she asked, laying her head down on James’ lap.

“No, I did not know that,” he confirmed, combing his hands through her red waves. “Very interesting.”

“I know,” replied Lily, “dolphins are very fascinating creatures. Did you also know that orcas are a type of dolphin, not whale.”

“What’s an orca?”

“How do you not know what an orca is?”

“You didn’t answer my question,” James retorted.

“An orca is a species of dolphin. They are occasionally referred to killer whales due to the fact that they kill whales,” Lily explained. “Because they are called killer whales, many people think they are whales that kill other creatures. But they’re actually dolphins.”

“Interesting…” he mumbled, still not following his girlfriend’s educational fact.

Honestly, the pros greatly outnumbered the cons. Lily was an amazing person, and James really liked her. No, James loved her and the pro/con list was just reminding him of all the reasons he did.

However, there was one con that James couldn’t overlook… 

_Con: she’s in a pre-law program._ It was never James Potter’s intention to date a law student. 

In fact, he vowed with his mates that they would never date law students. After Sirius had a bad one night stand with one, and explained the horror of it, dating someone in that profession just didn’t seem worth it.

Besides, James had always found lawyers (male, female, non-binary and genderfluid friends) to be argumentative and bossy. They would try to be the center of everything, poking their noses where they were not welcome. Lawyers had hearts made of stone and after inevitably breaking up with them, they’d sue you, getting the dog after all the heartbreak previous. Sure, it was a stereotype, but all people fall into them sometimes.

But there he was, dating Lily Evans.

And he was happy about it. 

Sure, Lily was argumentative sometimes, and bossy most of the time. But she never tried to be the center of attention, just wanting to earn respect from others. She would never poke her nose where it was unwelcomed, and waited for people to feel comfortable enough with her before they spilled their secret. Lily most definitely did not have a heart of stone, instead it was made out of gold. However - in the hypothetical situation in which they had a dog and broke up - she would probably only sue for partial custody… 

“Move that to the pro list,” James mumbled, drawing an arrow on his paper from the con side to the pro side.

“Hey, babe. What are you doing?” asked a feminine voice, entering James’ living room.

“How’d you get in?” he responded, concern written on his face.

Lily held up her lanyard. “You gave me a key, idiot. You forgot?”

James’ eyes widened. “Yeah, I did,” he confirmed.

“Honestly, you’d forget your head if it wasn’t screwed onto your neck,” she laughed, sitting down next to him on the couch. “What are you doing?”

“I’m making a pro/con list about you.”

“Really? What are some pros?”

“Um, well, you’re a good conversationalist, you like people, and you’re really smart,” James read the first three off the list.

“Alright those are all true: what are some cons?”

“I have much less on that side but one, you’re always busy, and two, you have a crazy ex.”

“God, I’m so glad I have that restraining order on Severus. That was a good idea, thank you.”

“Of course. He was a creep.”

“What’s that one?” asked Lily, pointing to the bullet point that moved from con to pro.

“Oh, I originally wrote it down as a con but it was a pro,” responded James.

“Hm, a con was that I’m studying to be a lawyer?”

“It’s now a pro.”

“What was the reasoning for the original placement?”

“See, always taking in a lawyer voice. Anyways, Sirius had a one night stand with a lawyer once…it didn’t go so well. In fact we all swore to not date lawyers.”

“Really? What happened?” Lily asked.

“Long story, I’ll tell you at dinner,” James waved a dismissive hand.

“Alright. Speaking of dinner, we should probably head out before it gets too late,” she stood up, reaching a hand out to grab James’.

He pulled himself up. “Let’s go, m’lady.”

She laughed, “and on our way there you can explain to me why being a lawyer is a con in our relationship.”

“It’s a pro now!”

“Complete answer, Potter. You’re not in primary school anymore.”

“Huh, maybe it should have stayed on the con side…”

“Rude!”

“Argumentative! Just like I said on my list!”

Lily just rolled her eyes, giving James a playful shove before tugging him along behind her.

He checked his pant pocket for the velvet box. Luckily, it was still there and Lily hadn’t seen it yet.

It was going to happen…he was going to propose. Screw the vow made after eight shots with the boys that prevented him from marrying a lawyer: Lily was worth breaking drunken promises for. 

James wanted her and only her, hoping she felt the same and that they wouldn’t need to have a custody battle over a dog. Because she would totally win, whether it be full or partial custody.

 _Add ‘would totally win a custody battle’ to the con side,_ James made a mental note. 

Like he said: the pro/con list was always up for edits.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated and truly make my day. If not, I hope you have a great day and enjoyed the fic!
> 
> Check me out on [Tumblr!](https://emptysatellite.tumblr.com/)


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